diff --git a/src/risotto/config.py b/src/risotto/config.py
index 024b161..570707f 100644
--- a/src/risotto/config.py
+++ b/src/risotto/config.py
@@ -117,9 +117,9 @@ else:
     PASSWORD_URL = config.get('PASSWORD_URL', 'https://localhost:8001/')
 
 if 'PASSWORD_LENGTH' in environ:
-    PASSWORD_LENGTH = environ['PASSWORD_LENGTH']
+    PASSWORD_LENGTH = int(environ['PASSWORD_LENGTH'])
 else:
-    PASSWORD_LENGTH = config.get('PASSWORD_LENGTH', 20)
+    PASSWORD_LENGTH = int(config.get('PASSWORD_LENGTH', 20))
 if 'PKI_ADMIN_PASSWORD' in environ:
     PKI_ADMIN_PASSWORD = environ['PKI_ADMIN_PASSWORD']
 else: